Morning news headlines for May 11, 2012

FORMER Sun and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks is expected to lift the lid on her close relationship with the Prime Minister at the Leveson Inquiry this morning; an undercover agent who foiled an al Qaida plot to blow up an airliner with an underwear bomb is a British national and an air operator has suspended some of its flights after a helicopter ditched in the North Sea.

Rebekah Brooks, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and helicopter ditched in to North Sea

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Brooks to lift lid on PM friendship

FORMER Sun and News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks is expected to lift the lid on her close relationship with the Prime Minister in evidence to the Leveson Inquiry today.

David Cameron is said to have texted Mrs Brooks, telling her to “keep her head up” after she resigned from News International last July.

It has also been claimed that the 43-year-old former editor sent Mr Cameron more than 12 text messages a day.

Al Qaida ‘bomber’ was British agent

AN undercover agent who foiled an al Qaida plot to blow up an airliner with an underwear bomb is a British national, it is reported.

UK intelligence was said to have been “heavily involved” in recruiting the spy who infiltrated a terror group in Yemen, in a rare coup for Western agencies.

Quoting sources briefed by Saudi counter-terrorism officials, US television networks said the individual grew up in Europe where he was apparently radicalised.

Helicopter ditching grounds flights

AN air operator has suspended some of its flights after a helicopter ditched in the North Sea.

Bond Aviation Group said it was grounding “until further notice” its flights involving EC225 Super Puma helicopters for “safety reasons”.

A Super Puma carrying 14 men came down 25 miles (40km) off the coast of Aberdeen shortly after midday yesterday. All arrived safely back on land after air and sea rescues.

Mother questioned over baby deaths

A WOMAN remained in police custody on suspicion of murdering her two babies just days after the family moved into a £1.2 million home.

The 10-week-old boy and his 14-month-old sister, Lily Sky Boots, were discovered unconscious by their father, Jeff Boots, when he returned home from work, sources said.

Police arrested their mother Felicia at the semi-detached home in south-west London, after emergency services were unable to revive the children at the scene on Wednesday night.

Tanker driver ballot result due

FUEL distribution firms will hear today if they face the renewed threat of strikes by tanker drivers in their long-running dispute over terms and conditions.

Members of Unite at a number of companies have been urged to reject the latest offer, drawn up after talks between the two sides at the conciliation service Acas.

There were long queues at garages across the country earlier this year when an initial vote in favour of strikes sparked panic buying – the Government was criticised for urging motorists to keep their tanks filled up and to store fuel in jerry cans in garages.

Auditors query value of jobs fund

A FLAGSHIP coalition scheme to boost the economy has been spending as much as £200,000 to generate one job, according to auditors.

The Regional Growth Fund was launched nearly two years ago to support enterprise and promote business in areas that have traditionally been reliant on the state.

David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat deputy Nick Clegg praised the initiative when they visited Essex technology firm e2v, one of the beneficiaries, earlier this week.

Surge in demand for sleeping pills

A SHARP rise in the use of sleeping pills saw NHS spending on the drugs reach nearly £50 million last year, new figures reveal.

Some 15.3 million prescriptions were handed out in 2010/11, compared with 14.5 million in 2007/08, according to NHS figures obtained by the Co-operative Pharmacy.

A Freedom of Information request revealed health trusts spent £49.2million on the drugs in 2010/11, up from £42 million three years previously – an increase of more than 17%.

Minister to re-examine RAF contract

DEFENCE Secretary Philip Hammond said he would personally re-examine a contract for RAF air-to-air refuelling planes amid claims that the taxpayer is paying three times over the odds.

He issued the commitment after an investigation by BBC2’s Newsnight found fresh evidence that the much-criticised deal was not providing good value for money.

Defence chiefs have been attacked by spending watchdogs for entering into an “inappropriate” 27-year, £10.5 billion PFI contract in 2008 without properly understanding the costs.

Budget cuts ‘putting lives at risk’

THE Government’s austerity measures are “putting lives at risk” on the roads, a parliamentary advisory group said today.

As many as 65% of English local authorities have seen reductions in the budget allocated to road safety engineering in the last 12 months, the survey by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) found.

And more than 62% have seen a reduction in staffing between 2010/11 and 2011/12.

Man charged with baby son’s murder

A MAN will appear in court today charged with the murder of his seven-month-old son.

Police were called after the boy was taken into the Royal Derby Hospital on Tuesday.

The boy, from Waterford Drive, Chaddesden, Derbyshire, was transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he died late on Wednesday night.